This is a compilation of some of the most
frequently misspelled, commonly confused
and easily misused words around. Some are
just words that are highly susceptible to
misspelling. Others are homonyms that look
or sound similar to one another, but have
different meanings.

In an era of email, instant messaging,
pagers, and cell phone text messaging,
correct spelling and grammar, proper
capitalization and use of complete
sentences has become a thing of the
past. The increasing use of Internet
and IM acronyms makes it increasingly
important for us to recognize the
proper use and spelling of many of
the most commonly mangled and misused
words.

Far too many people blindly accept
correction from spell checker
software while failing to recognize
that they must differentiate between
the similar words. With homonyms, since
both examples are valid words, your
spell checker will not pick up the
mistake.

Commonly Confused Words

ACCEPT- to receive
He enthusiastically accepted the trophy for
his winning entry in the contest.

EXCEPT- apart from; excluding; to take or leave out
She had visited every community in Colorado,
except the tiny town of Tincup.

ADVICE- recommendation; guidance
The police officer offered advice on how best to secure
the business.

ADVISE- to offer guidance or wisdom
The former President advised the Senator to stop lying
to voters.

ALL READY- complete; prepared
He was certain it was all ready for scrutiny, but soon
discovered it was still full of errors.

ALREADY- by this time; previously
His book was already in print when they discovered it
wasn't factual.

ALLOWED- permitted; acceptable
Visitors will not be allowed into the
concert without a ticket.

ALOUD- audibly; out loud
Only one person had the nerve to say aloud what
we were all thinking about the corrupt politician.

SITE- location; position; place
The site of the new bank will be
just down the street from its current location.

COMPLEMENT- something that completes; brings to perfection;
is in harmony with
The wine complemented the lavish feast.

COMPLIMENT- an expression of praise or flattery
She received many compliments on her new book, until
they discovered it was all plagiarized.

CONSCIENCE- principles; a sense of right and wrong; ethics
The politician claimed his conscience kept him from
cheating on his wife.

CONSCIOUS- awake; aware; cognizant
Both passengers remained conscious following the auto
accident.

COUNCIL- a group that consults or advises
The city council voted unanimously to
outlaw smoking in bars and restaurants.

COUNSEL- to advise
The student was counseled before deciding
which course she would take.

DAM- a barrier built to hold back water
The entire valley flooded when the dam collapsed.

DAMN- to condemn; to not care at all
Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

DESERT- arid region; abandon
Contrary to popular belief, many deserts are teeming
with plant and animal life.

DESSERT- a sweet course served at the end of a meal
The easiest way to differentiate the spelling of these
two words, is to remember that you always want two
servings of that scrumptious dessert. The scorching
desert is spelled with just one "s" but that delicious
dessert is spelled with two.

ELICIT- to draw out; to bring out
The police officer tried to elicit the truth
from the unresponsive suspect.

ILLICIT- illegal
The disgraced mayor refused to admit his part in
the illicit activities.

EMINENT- famous; renowned; respected
The eminent surgeon was fired after he removed
a kidney from the wrong patient.

IMMANENT- inherent; intrinsic; present everywhere
The meaning of the sonnet was immanent, but not
easily recognized.

IMMINENT- about to happen; ready to take place
A fight between the talk show guests was imminent
from the moment they walked out on stage.

FLAIR- style; stylishness; panache
The room was decorated with great flair.

FLARE- a burst of light; an outward curve to a shape
Police placed a flare in the road to warn approaching
motorists of the auto accident.

FLEW- past tense of fly
The geese flew over the lake without stopping.

FLU- influenza
She caught the flu after failing to get her annual flu shot.

FLUE- a pipe or enclosed passage that conveys smoke or exhaust
The flue needs to be cleaned before the cold winter weather arrives.

FORE- toward the front; first in order; a warning calling attention to a errant golf ballPresident Ford shouted "fore" to warn the golf course
spectators they were in danger of being struck by his wayward golf ball.

FOUR- the cardinal number between three and five; 4; IV
The price they were charging was actually four
dollars more than the advertised sale price.

FORMALLY- officially; in a polite, mannered fashion
The Governor formally signed into law a
new ordinance on jaywalking.

FORMERLY- previously; in the past
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
formerly known as the INS, opened its new
headquarters today.

HEAR- to perceive sound
He claimed he could hear the
footsteps of approaching zombies.

HERE- at this place; at this point in time
Although there was no evidence to support
his claim, the frantic man continued to
insist zombies had been right here in this room.

INTERMENT- burial
His interment at the local cemetery was interrupted
when his casket was found to be filled with gold.

INTERNMENT- imprisonment; confinement
In times of war, individuals classified as "enemy aliens" have
occasionally been placed in internment camps by some countries.

ITS- of, or belonging to
The book and its author were both found to be
lacking in credibility.

IT'S- contraction for "it is"It's going to take months before all the
errors are documented.

LEAD- (noun) a type of metal
He had lead poisoning from all the old paint he consumed.

LEAD- (verb) guide; show the way
The outdoorsman will lead the hikers from
Lake Mary, up to Duck Lake.

LED- (verb) past tense of the verb "to lead"
The criminal led his victims into the woods,
before forcing them at gunpoint to clean his cabin.

LOSE- to misplace; be defeated; not win
He was certain to lose the election because of the infamous video.

LOOSE- not tight; baggy
The lawyer's pants were so loose that
they actually fell to his ankles, causing him to
trip and fall.

MAIN- the most important; largest
Roast beef was the main dish at dinner.

MANE- long, heavy hair on the back of
or around the neck of a horse or lion; a person's long hair
The horse had a beautiful braided mane.

PAIN- a feeling of being hurt; suffering
He was in great pain following the accident.

PANE- a single sheet of glass in a division of a window
The pane of glass no longer leaked after it was caulked.

PASSED- to go by; to have moved
He was killed as he passed the truck on a
blind curve.

PAST- belonging to a earlier time; long-ago
In the past he had been a respectable
attorney, but was disbarred after he tried to bribe
a judge.

PEAK- mountaintop; summit
It was at the peak of his political career that
he accepted the bride from Tony Soprano.

WAIT- to delay or put off; to stop doing something; to serve customers
How long will we have to wait in this long line?

WEIGHT- the amount an object weighs; the burden of care or responsibility
A healthy diet and exercise can help control your weight.

WAY- direction; a style, manner or fashion
Which way is the airport?

WEIGH- to measure by weight
She will weigh the apples before going to the cashier.

WHEY- watery liquid that separates from curd when milk coagulates
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider,
And sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

If you find the above data useful, please
link to this page from your webpage, blog or
website. Alternatively, consider recommending
Internet Accuracy Project to your friends and
colleagues. Thank you in advance!